Scott McClellan is the editor of Collide Magazine, an online magazine that focuses on technology and Christian faith. Last week he wrote an article for the magazine titled “How to Fail at Social Media.” A pretty catchy title if you ask me.
I’ve been called out for being a “social media cop” plenty of times before so I promise not to go there. And though I do believe it is possible to have a good pulse of what works in social media, I thought the list that McClellan provided was quite interesting. Here are some of the points he made that stuck out to me on failing at social media:
- Write a sub par article on social media.
- Try to be something you’re not.
- Try to grab an audience before you add value or content.
- Only talk about yourself.
- Be erratic.
- Forget to tell a story.
I basically agree with his points, but one stuck out to me, his last point: forget to tell a story. Here is how he explained that point:
Story is the language of the human heart. Facts inform, stories invite. Donald Miller says that stories—character, objective, conflict, resolution—are the way God changes us. That’s a big deal, right? And if our churches and ministries are producing stories of life change, don’t we bear some responsibility to share those stories? I think so, and social media is a wonderful tool to help us in that effort.
Certainly the “experts” on social media have largely missed this. We have learned that social media is all about content and we have learned that you have to add value to be useful in social media.
But if we aren’t sharing our story and the stories going on around us, I think we may have missed the social part of social media. In many ways I have missed this.
Sometimes in blogging the allure of writing something controversial is greater than sharing a meaningful story. And sometimes I give in to that allure.
Let’s not forget to share our stories.
